Dog Show Photography

[TheNissanMan]

I'm still at my sisters so haven't had a chance to have a good look at the shots I took yesterday but was struggling.

Are there any peeps on here who specialise in dog show photography, what makes a good shot ?

The backgrounds were all messy, it was hard to get only the relevant people in the frame and just not sure if all the photo's I took yesterday deserve the bin, would be great to know what to look out for...

Didn't spend too much time with the camera as was too busy playing with all the dogs lol...

 

[skiwhiz]

its a long time since I have been to a show but look at where the dogs are lined up, where they move them in the ring and try to position yourself so that you get the best shots of the dogs moving. Lined up dogs should be easy. With digital you should be able to crop, mine were all taken in the days of film.
also try some low down shots or from above looking down to change the perspective.

 

[big soft moose]

The best advice i'd give would be to get down to the dogs level - the so called "my dog" angle where you take a picture of a dog from standing looks very 'snapshot'

Also use a wide apperture for a narrow DoF and focus on the eyes - Ideally you'll get the tip of its nose in focus too - but if the dog is moving some movement blur in the legs and fur is acceptable - even desirable

 

[gothgirl]

Unless you're a dog shower yourself you'll struggle at first to get pics people want, its all about getting into the groove of it and understanding what people want.

If so much as a toe is out of line in the pic, the owner won't want it, as they want the pics to show off how perfect and to standard their dog is, and the way they move.